Polynesian Maritime Expansion

Timeline

1. 1035–1039Samoan Islands · SamoaPolynesian navigators mastered monsoon and trade-wind patterns, using double-hulled canoes to carry livestock, crop seeds, and tools on long voyages. Stars, wave patterns, and bird migration served as navigational guides, making voyages across hundreds to thousands of kilometers routine.
2. 1039–1040Eastern Polynesian islands · PolynesiaVoyaging fleets reached previously uninhabited or sparsely populated islands and established permanent settlements. Taro, breadfruit, bananas, chickens, and pigs spread with the migrants; pottery and stone-tool crafts were replicated on the islands, forming independent chiefdom societies as the Polynesian cultural sphere expanded further east.